Until All Perish
by Ahn-Li Steffraini
Summary: Luke Skywalker has to team up with a lich in order to destroy the worst threat to the Force that he has ever encountered.


Until All Perish

Star Wars Fan Fiction

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Luke Skywalker has to team up with a lich in order to destroy the worst threat to the Force that he has ever encountered.

Pairings: None

Genre: Science fantasy/Horror

Disclaimer: Do I look like George Lucas to you? That would mean I don't own it, but man, would that be nice.

Author's Notes: Written for the QGJDL. It just takes a few twists before the Great Pony-Tailed One to make himself known... although... if you know what you're looking for, he appears a lot sooner... This may become part of a larger series if people like it, but for now it's a one shot.

Time Period: Before the Vong, but after the last defeat of Emperor Palpatine.

* * *

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

* * *

_About 32 Years before the Battle of Yavin.._.

His lungs burned with exertion, but he knew that he had to press the attack. Even if he fell, the Sith would be too unbalanced to form a plan to defeat his Padawan. If he didn't fall, well... then that was a bonus. He certainly had no plans on dying this day. He shoved the distractions out of his mind and parried another blow from the double red-bladed lightsaber, ignored the sneer from the Sith.

Pushing the attack, Qui-Gon Jinn managed to corner. _Ha, corner, there's a thought, Qui-Gon_...

_Oh shut up_, he told himself. _You don't have _time_ for this_...

Seconds before the laser gates actually activated, he pulled himself up short and the Sith Lord was shrouded behind a gate of red beams. As if testing the integrity with the off hand side of his lightsaber, the Sith Lord frowned in thought then deactivated the lightsaber. _Oh goody, it thinks. Not just any mindless killer. Doesn't that throw a kink into your plans, eh?_

Qui-Gon pushed that out, one small smile of irony on his lips. Wouldn't Obi-Wan find it hilarious if he found out that his own vaulted Master had problems pushing his own doubts out of his mind. He spared a short look back to see if Obi-Wan was there. With relief well hidden, Qui-Gon noted his Padawan's presence in the first laser barrier.

He was an old hand of being able to lose his doubts in battle, and in meditation. Which was what he did to regain his strength. He was tiring a bit too quickly and that was worrisome, but he should have a second wind once...

The laser barriers lifted and Qui-Gon was on his feet in a second. Qui-Gon pushed the Sith Lord, seeking an opening, knowing that one or way or another, this battle ended here. But those thoughts were pushed out, and it was only strike, parry... parry, yet another parry...

Then it happened.

One parry, and, silly him, he forgot about the back end of the double saber.

An excrutiating burning pain that ripped him from front to back and spread through his whole body, his whole being. He might have screamed... but no, that was Obi-Wan, shouting his denial and rage at the temerity of the interloper to strike down a Jedi Master...

Qui-Gon would have given anything to spare Obi-Wan that sight.

A few moments... was it mere moments?... later and he felt his Apprentice's presence more than anything else. "Master..."

"Obi-Wan... it's too late... too late."

"No!"

He was, although only having enough strength to get his message out, was so pleased that Obi-Wan loved him enough to want to keep him around for longer. Oh, there was so much to say but no time to say it now.

"No... it's too late. Obi-Wan, you must train the boy. He is the Chosen One. Train him..."

"Yes, Master."

Qui-Gon reached up and touched the tears that streaked down Obi-Wan's face. _How much I want to tell you... how grateful I am for the happiest years of my life... but they were long enough. Don't mourn me._

With that sensation ended.

* * *

_  
Shortly after the Battle of Yavin..._

Ben Kenobi turned to the spirit forms of Yoda and Anakin Skywalker. "Now that you are here, we should be off to see those we haven't seen in years."

Anakin smiled, "I can't wait to see my mother again... and Qui-Gon."

Ben smiled back. "I can't wait to meet your mother... and I too, can't wait to see my old Master."

The light faded and the realm of the Dead opened to them. Not surprisingly, they found themselves in the familiar surrounding of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, only now the cityscape was replaced by clear blue skies and beautiful forests and garden. The entire Jedi Council was there and Mace Windu greeted Yoda. "I was wondering when you would get here."

"Wondered when I would, I did too," answered Yoda.

"Master Windu," began Anakin. "Where is my Mother and Qui-Gon? I would like to see them."

"Qui-Gon isn't with you?" came the puzzled answer of Mace Windu. "Because according to Tahl... he never arrived..."

* * *

_Fifteen years after the Battle of Yavin_

Luke Skywalker leaned on the balcony to his apartment suite on Coruscant. It was rare, even in peace time, to be able to relax the way he was. Mara was out and Luke was enjoying his time of quiet. He closed his eyes. Yoda was so very right when he had said that Jedi didn't crave excitement because right now, if he had known what was in store for him, Luke would have _ran_ back to Tatooine and his former life.

He smiled. It wasn't all bad, however. He had Mara, Han, Leia, and often their twins for company when Han and Leia needed quiet. And that was a good type of excitement. One of life and rebirth.

Luke went back inside to his apartment to meditate before heading to bed.

More than a few stories down, closer to the actual ground level, a woman walked across the street. Even though she moved in more of a skulk to avoid the many dangers that one could run across in the slums of Coruscant, something watched, seeing her as little more than food. Finally, it lashed out and in horror, the dirty human woman froze in disbelief at the shambling form.

In a few legends and myths these things were mentioned, and even given names.

The shambling horror might have even been human at one point. Now, though, skin fell off in green moss covered chunks to expose moldy bones. Eyes were no more than shadows and the sinew was tightened to stiff dryness.

This wasn't even alive. It moved only because its instinct, such as it was, dictated that it hungered for the warm life that it would never feel again.

When it reached the woman that was frozen in wordless horror, its hands grasped her and pulled her strongly to its mouth.

Perhaps it was the ultimate irony that something else entirely hunted it too.

This thing swooped down gracefully, but was no more alive. In blessing it knew what it was and for what purpose it existed. In curse... well... the curse was that it knew no rest. A shining sword cut the head of the mindless creature in one fluid maneuver. The human woman scrambled away and asked in a hush whisper, "What was that? What are you?"

The man... for that at one point was what he had been... turned to regard the woman in cool calmness. He was tall, and although emacipated from his long unlife, held most of his former features intact. Granted, his skin was greyish white now and drawn tight over high, regal cheekbones, but he still looked mostly human. Even alive if one looked quickly enough. His hair was long and tied back in a pony-tail to rest on his back, and his beard was still clean and intact as well.

Even more surprising for one of his kind was the neat, tidy, and relatively well taken care of clothing. The hunter was not of the same class as the hunted by far...

Finally he answered, "That, my dear, was a zombie. Undead. And while I am also undead, I am not a mindless zombie. I am a lich. Go home. You are safe now."

The woman ran off and the lich turned to figure out why the mindless undead were so populous now...

The chirping of the holo-communicator woke up Luke the next morning. He flapped around with his hand for awhile before hitting the button to only have voice. "Skywalker," he acknowledged.

"Jedi Master Luke Skywalker?" came an authoritive voice.

"Yes?"

"My name is Captain Mora Gilian of the Visce Sector Police Force here on Coruscant," she greeted. "We have a woman down here who claims to have had an encounter of a supernatural kind. This is out of our league, but I am aware that the Jedi are more tuned into this kind of thing."

Luke sat up in bed, his brow crinkling in thought, "Say what again?"

A low chuckle was his answer, "Now, have I managed to surprise even the vaulted Jedi?"

"No, no..." Luke managed as he got dressed. "Visce Sector? I'll be right there."

A half an hour later, Luke serenely walked into the precinct and was ushered into Captain Gilian's office. Sitting on the couch was a dirty and sad looking skinny woman that was clearly from the bowels of Coruscant. Gilian got up and gestured to Luke, "Ramina, this is Jedi Master Skywalker. Tell him what you told me."

The woman, Ramina, looked up with wild eyes, "I saw walking death that wanted me for breakfast! And there was this man, also of death, who rescued me. Neither of them were alive, but the man was... was... aware. The other that he killed was... not at all in his mind."

"Could you start from the beginning, please?" asked Luke as he sat down across from her.

"I was walking home. This thing attacked me. It had parts falling from it, and you could see through it. Oh, I could tell that it was dead, but it still walked," she took a breath. "Then, just as it was about to bite me, another attacked it. He killed it, put it to rest. But this one was different. He was aware of what he did, and he spoke to me."

"What did he say?"

"He told me that the other was a zombie, and that he was a lich," she answered. "It was horrible."

"I can imagine," said Luke, putting hand out to comfort the woman, and also to be able to judge if she was telling the truth or just plain mindsick.

What was more frightening was that she was neither.

"Thank you, Ramina," said Gilian as she escorted the woman out. "We will find your 'lich' for you."

When Gilian closed the door with a frown and Luke looked up at her, "I will find it."

"You don't seriously believe that tripe?"

"Captain, when I touched her I did it for a reason. I did it see if she was lying or simply mindsick," Luke stood and brushed off his robe. "She was neither. Whatever she saw happened, even if what this man claimed both to be was not what he claimed it to be."

Gilian sighed and leaned against her desk, "So what do you suggest? Wait until this so-called lich strikes another of the mindless undead down?"

"Hmm, well, unfortunately, that would be the only way to track him down," he answered. "Did you at least get a description of him?"

"Yes, and that's the weird part," Gilian handed over a copy of the composite holo of the lich.

Luke activated the hand held holo projector and looked at the man. The dimensions read that it was a tall man, at least two meters tall and, while thin, almost emacipated, a handsome man. Well, except for the skin pulled taut against the bones of his face and finger bones, as if the fat had burned away leaving only the tightened skin and bones. He had a regal look to him, proud, leonine. With more weight on him to make him look normal, he would have been extremely well built as well with a powerful muscalature. He had sandy grey hair worn long and down his back, and tied back. His beard was short clipped and kept neat and tidy.

The only thing that made the hairs rise on the back of his neck was that he was human, but not. His skin held the greyish tinge of the dead after the blood quit flowing after days. His eyes were as clear and natural as any human's however, and if Luke wasn't mistaken, his eyes were a tranquil shade of grey blue.

From Ramina's description he wore simple, but well cut clothing in dark grey, black, and dark earthy brown and green. It was clothing that was well appointed enough to pass in the streets of Coruscant, but also rugged enough to pass through the wilds of less populated planets. However, it was not the color or quality of said clothing.

It was the very obvious style of the traditional Jedi robes and the very obvious familiarity of the way this man wore them and, while he carried no lightsaber that the police or Luke knew about, he did carry that long curved sword that could be used like a lightsaber.

Now he knew why Gilian called him. "He's not any of the Jedi I've met, Captain..."

"Oh, I figured that," she answered. "I also knew that you would come to the same conclusion. His style is older than yours, anyway. But you know how your enemies, and your allies, have a habit of crawling out of the wood work. Now, also, you have access to files I don't. And I want this man identified and his purpose plain. If he's helping us, well and good, but I want you to have a close rein on him. If he's not, I want him off our streets and behind bars."

* * *

The lich remained absolutely still. That was the bonus to not being exactly alive. He didn't get muscle cramps anymore, nor did he even feel pain or hunger. He could stay there until the end of time or his quarry came by. Either option would have suited him fine.

Well, it would have if he didn't get bored of waiting for his quarry anyway. He still had his scruples, unlike most undead, and with that blessing was the capability to get bored to death. Even he could smile at that irony. He took a breath into dusty lungs, out of sheer habit, in a deep sigh and let it whistle out again.

If his quarry didn't come out soon he was literally going to be bored to death...

He was patient, even in life he had been a very patient man, but even he had his limits and he was quickly reaching them.

Then his eyes caught the motion of his quarry. The very second he stepped off the ledge and committed himself to the drop there was no going back and in one fluid motion borne of many, many years of practice he pulled the dacian falx blade from the sheath as he glided down. Seconds before his blade would have sliced the creature from head to groin it twisted out of the way and pulled out the blaster. For a moment things seemed to slow down as she pulled the trigger and he was the one to twist out of the way.

Unlike the zombie of a few days ago she was aware of her surroundings. Blaster fire peppered where he had been as he rolled, coiled and ready to jump at her, blade held in a defensive but also at ready position. "I have done nothing to you, Hunter," she said. "Go away."

"Your existence is your sin, wight."

"And who are you to judge, lich?" she fingered the trigger. "You still have your free will where I am bound to the mission that I had upon dying. You can leave this place where I am bound to protect it."

"If I wish final rest, all of us must perish," he said. "We all have our curses, wight."

She raised the gun and moments before firing, "Then try to put me to rest, but it will be you that falls before I."

The blaster fire peppered where he had been once again as old training from when he had still lived, training bred into him, allowed him near effortlessly move out of the way. She finally gave up and pulled out the simple short sword and parried his downstroke. Metal against metal clashed and he used his superior strength to try to overpower her.

But in the realm of undeath, strength had little to do with size nor power, but with age and time spent as undead. Unfortunately for him this was where she was superior as she was far, far older than he. The Hunter was soon using his skills to parry and strike. It was now a battle of skill and experience with swords.

She used the wall to run up and vault herself over him and slash at his head, but he whirled and parried as he knelt, his sword over his head. She landed as she parried two strikes effortlessly away as she did so.

His sword, since it was a long and graceful curved blade, danced and in one swirling maneuver he managed to bat away her sword. She held out her hands like claws and dove at him, intended to gouge out his eyes, but in one seemingly slow movement he arced his sword and cut off her arms. In a reverse his sword slid deep into her chest and she disintegrated into dust as her unlife ended on the end of the dacian falx. He stood and shook off the dust.

His comlink chirruped for attention and he answered it, "Yes?"

"Qui-Gon, have you finished the wight off?"

The lich, who in life had been the Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn sighed, "Yes, I have."

* * *

Luke walked into his home with the holo-recording of the mysterious man, the mysterious Jedi, in hand. Mara met him in the living room and frowned at the look on his face. "What is with you?"

"Captain Gilian of Visce Sector called me in today to investigate a mysterious stranger killing undead," he answered as he flopped into one of the chairs.

The look on his wife's face was priceless, "Say what?"

"I don't know if they're truly undead, or some strange alien, or some experiment gone horribly wrong. All I know is that there is someone out there exterminating them," he said and looked over at her with a look of puzzlement on his face. He took out the mini-projector and turned it on. "This is what he looks like, anyway. Please tell me that isn't the Jedi I think he is, dressed the old way..."

Mara looked at the projection and back to him, "I wish I could, dear, but he definitely looks like an old school Jedi. Only with more black and grey."

C3PO chose that moment to walk in, "Master Luke you're home... BY THE MAKER!!"

Luke looked at the droid in confusion, "What is it, Threepio?"

"Master Luke... where did you get that holo?"

"The police," he answered irritibly. "He's been sighted in Coruscant killing... things...."

"If I am not mistaken, that is Master Qui-Gon," said Threepio. "But he's been dead for years. He was killed on Naboo nearly fifty years ago when he took Master Anakin to be trained as a Jedi. We never saw Master Anakin until ten years had passed and I learned that he had died at the hands of a Sith Lord. R2 could tell us more."

Luke looked at Mara, who had gone white. "By all rights, this man is very dead, Luke. Even if he hadn't died then, he would certainly be dead of age by now."

"Threepio, find R2 and research the terms 'lich', 'zombie', and 'undead'. Anything you can find I want to know," he said as he stood up and walked to the door. "Call me when you've found something I can use."

Mara stood up and grasped him by the shoulder, "Where are you going?"

"To find this so-called lich who seemingly used to be Jedi," answered Luke. "Maybe I can get answers. Either way, I have to find him– to either help him, or to destroy him."

* * *

Many frustrating hours later Luke hadn't picked up any trace nor sense of the former Jedi Master, if that was who he truly was. There was a chance that it could simply be another case of an insane clone like Joruus C'boath had been. Then again, it was a very large galaxy out there and a great many things he had thought as impossible had become possible. Sometimes more possible than he liked.

A motion to his left caused him pull out his lightsaber as a man came out of the darkness, "You can put down that lightsaber."

For some reason, Luke found himself lowering the lightsaber. Out of the holes beside the man's nose two long probiscus snaked out as they reached for him. Luke, as if in a trance walked to the man. "No..." he whispered as the man's probiscus began to journey up his nose.

Moments before he would have been lost permanently a deep, almost too deep, as if the voice called out beyond life, said, "While you may not be the type I hunt, I can easily send you to final rest. Leave this one alone. It is not your place."

Luke found himself being pushed away as his will snapped back. He saw that the probiscus were still out and seemingly reaching for the other, then as if in disgust they snapped back into the man's head. "What are you doing here?" he said in irritation. "Go hunt your quarry and leave the living to feed."

A short chuckle sounded, "You know as well as I; those killed before their life purpose is fulfilled are cursed to do so in undeath. If you had fed upon him you simply would have made more work for me."

The other man, who had almost fed on Luke, snorted in derision, but turned and walked away, "When his life purpose is fulfilled, Hunter, you can count on the fact that I will feed."

Luke pushed himself up and turned to the shadow in the alley. "Thank you... I believe you are called Hunter?" he held out his hand. "I am Luke Skywalker, and I evidently owe you my life."

The figure moved out into the light and the first thing Luke realized was that this man was not alive. What hold he had was due to whatever 'purpose' he was doomed to fulfill now. The next thing was that Luke had not found the lich, but the lich had found him. The lich also held out his hand and they shook hands. "Hunter is now my profession," he said. "My name is Qui-Gon Jinn. Or, at least, it was."

"When you were alive," mused Luke. "So, Ramira was right. You're a lich? May I ask what that is?"

Qui-Gon frowned, "Ramira?"

"The woman you rescued from a zombie."

"Oh her," realization dawned on Qui-Gon's face. "I didn't realize I had left such an impression. Not many report this kind of thing. Especially to Jedi."

Luke walked beside him and asked again, "So, what exactly are you?"

"Trapped between life and death for all eternity unless I fulfill my own mission," came his answer, and he didn't say anything else.

"You died before finishing something?" said Luke, then put it together with what Threepio had told him of his father. "You died before finishing my father Anakin's training like you swore you would do, didn't you?"

Qui-Gon stopped and closed his eyes for a second in regret, "Yes. Yes, you are correct."

They began walking again and Luke asked, "So, damned for all eternity to another mission?"

"I was called back to this re-animated body to put the others to rest," answered Qui-Gon. "You see, that is all the undead are: reanimated. Not resurrected. There are different classes to this. I don't know if there is an absolute top, but I know I am the closest to life as undead can get. Zombies and ghouls are the lowest of the low. They are reanimated without any of their spirit, their life Force, in them. From that point all the way up to the point I am is only grades of how much Living Force is in the form."

Luke followed Qui-Gon to a ledge where Qui-Gon pointed out to the night sky, "See that?"

"Coruscant?"

"Use the Force and tell me what you see."

"Many points of life, some brighter in it than others," Luke turned to Qui-Gon. "I see it in you as well, only in you it is tinged, tainted... with you I can tell your body is dead."

"Remember that, Luke," said Qui-Gon moments before stepping to the edge. "And remember the next time you see someone like me to put them to their final rest."

With that Qui-Gon stepped from the ledge and disappeared from sight. Luke watched as he dropped away before landing in a crouch many hundreds of meters down.

* * *

When Luke returned home, Threepio was waiting. "I have the information you wanted."

"Good, put it on the desk," said Luke, smiling wanly.

Mara walked in and asked, "Well?"

"I found him."

Her eyebrows shot up, "And?"

"He's Qui-Gon Jinn, and he's undead. I have no doubt of what the Force tells me."

FIN?


End file.
